At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred
Hiroshima, Japan Reuters The last time a US President visited Hiroshima, atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori was filled with hope for a future without nuclear weapons. Seven years later, he’s more sceptical. As leaders of the Group of Seven nations gather in the Japanese city this week for a summit, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants […]
“Colin loved the church”: Powell recalled as Episcopalian at cathedral funeral
Washington DC, USRNS Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell, known as a four-star general and as a one-time Secretary of State, was remembered at his funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on Friday as a man of the Episcopal faith. Longtime colleague and friend Richard Armitage, who served as deputy secretary of state […]
Popes and presidents: A look back at the history of US presidential visits to the Vatican
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, looks at the history of meetings between popes and US presidents…
US ex-Presidents Bush, Clinton, Obama band together to aid Afghan refugees
New York City/Washington DC, USReuters Three former US presidents – Republican George W Bush and Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama – have banded together behind a new group aimed at supporting refugees from Afghanistan settling in the United States following the recent American withdrawal ending 20 years of war. The former leaders and their […]
In the US, Obama faith adviser accuses Trump counterpart of laying spiritual groundwork for Capitol insurrection
Washington DC, USRNS A long-simmering debate between liberal and conservative Christian faith leaders came to a head during a panel session at a Religion News Association conference on Thursday, with a former Obama White House faith adviser blaming an evangelical Christian adviser to former President Donald Trump for quickening the rise of Christian nationalism and […]
Biden, former presidents, urge Americans to forgive and unite at National Prayer Breakfast
RNS The message of the 2021 National Prayer Breakfast can be summed up in the title of a book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Prize-winning South African cleric: No Future Without Forgiveness. Indeed, Andrew Young, civil rights leader and former ambassador to the United Nations, referenced the title of the book in his prerecorded […]
Texas megachurch pastor sent to prison for fraud scheme
Houston, USAP A former Houston megachurch pastor who once was an adviser to presidents has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for his part in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. “They trusted me with their money, and I abused that trust,” Kirbyjon Caldwell, former pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, an 18,000-member […]
Five faith facts about former President Barack Obama’s new book: ‘A Promised Land’
RNS Former US President Barack Obama’s new book, A Promised Land, only mentions four pages in its index under the category “faith and”. But the title of the book by the 44th US President invokes Biblical imagery – a land promised by God to his people – and Obama includes the role of religious institutions, […]
Essay: Barack Obama’s address at John Lewis’ funeral
Former US President BARACK OBAMA gave an inspiring tribute to those present at the funeral service for John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday. Here’s a transcript, via AP, of what he said…
Joseph Lowery, minister, civil rights leader, friend of King, dies at 98
RNS Rev Joseph Lowery, a civil rights leader who worked closely with the Rev Martin Luther King, Jr, and prayed at President Obama’s first inauguration, died on Friday. Lowery was 98. “Tonight, the great Reverend Joseph E. Lowery transitioned from earth to eternity,” the King Center in Atlanta tweeted. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his […]